Galaxy Police Cadet Scramble
by Gaming Ikari
Summary: Ranma's fight in China against Saffron manages to catch intergalactic attention which garners an invite to the most prestigious school a person can attend. Unfortunately... it's not Tokyo University. Careful eyes will note another series as well.
1. Chapter 1

Galaxy Police Cadet Scramble

oOo

Chapter 1

oOo

Quick note: If you enjoy this story (or at least, the idea of a Tenchi GXP-Ranma 1/2 crossover, go check out Lawra's Career Opportunities. You can find Lawra's profile by checking out my Favourite Authors.

oOo

One does not lightly slay a being capable of leveling mountains and regenerating from limb-rending wounds. The events leading up to such a momentous occasion are the sort of things which tends to get noticed by the people with the ability to notice them. Especially when one doesn't bother to hide the fact that one is rearranging a Chinese mountain range over the course of one's fight. Sure, Saffron was the one who'd done most of the rearranging, but that didn't change the fact Ranma Saotome was helping him do the rearranging, if only by way of avoiding attack after landscape-scarring attack.

Ranma would happily admit to himself that his strategy for that fight, if one could in fact call it a strategy, had essentially been as follows: Hang on to Akane's shriveled form, try not to die a horrible flaming death, and wait for the opportunity to strike back... all with a strong dash of panic-induced hope that the chance would eventually come. The pigtailed boy knew he'd gotten lucky in that fight.

All of that didn't change the fact the fight was rather noticeable.

Washu was the first to chance upon the fight. She'd quickly concluded that, while powerful, the beings involved were nowhere near Ryouko's level. After a cursory review of the participants' vital statistics, she'd set her computer to automatically record the fight for viewing later, when she had the opportunity to make some popcorn. Entertainment like that didn't happen often enough to ignore completely, after all.

Yukinojo was the second one to sense the battle taking place. The A.I. extended the ship's sensors to cover the region, comparing the power signatures and any other data he could acquire with local and Galaxy Police databases. Visual data collected from local satellites indicated several humans from Japan were involved in the conflict, with one Ranma Saotome being directly in a fight with another being of vastly superior power. The data also correlated with one record which hadn't been accessed in nearly four thousand years.

The being Ranma Saotome faced was the notorious space pirate Saffron. Born of a race of incredibly powerful bird creatures possessing frightening powers over flame and the ability to regenerate even the direst of wounds, Saffron had gone on to acquire a powerful fleet of ships before raiding and pillaging spacelanes for hundreds of years. The list of his crimes was so extensive that they even surpassed Ryouko's... And only the fact he'd been gone for over four thousand years had dropped him from his Most Wanted status. After the first thousand years with no reported sightings, the Galaxy Police had reluctantly concluded that Saffron was dead.

Yukinojo silently appended the incorrect fact in the file, sending it immediately on to the Galaxy Police headquarters. With luck and the assistance of Tenchi and his friends, Yukinojo reported his confidence that Detective Mihoshi could handle the situation. While the humans currently fighting Saffron would no doubt be mourned, the timely intervention of the Galaxy Police could prevent further loss of life at the hands of the interstellar menace.

The A.I.'s circuits blinked as a new reading came through. A diagnostic was run on the long range scanners, then run again when the initial response indicated there were no problems. Deciding not to waste further processing power on an obvious glitch, Yukinojo focused on the incoming visual data... Which, he noted, synced perfectly with the sensor data: Ranma Saotome had, apparently, defeated Saffron. Even as the A.I. watched, the boy dove through the air to shatter a fancy statue and soak himself in the water.

The artificial intelligence amended the report, downgrading the urgency. Records indicated that when Saffron's race were forced to regenerate in that manner, they were essentially defenseless for years afterwards. Mihoshi, with her training, would certainly be capable of capturing the criminal in the days to come.

Yukinojo was certain the Galaxy Police would be more interested in this Ranma Saotome. Official Terran government records stated the boy was an Earthling, and thus exempt from admission into the interstellar academy. Those official records also stated that Tenchi was an Earthling, and the A.I. noted dryly in his report that the records were certainly wrong on that count. He made a recommendation that the young man be approached with recruitment in mind and filed the report, his processes twitching happily as he received confirmation from the central computer of the report's arrival.

All Mihoshi had to do was wait for a GP representative to go over the report and confirm the recommendation, then hand the boy the pamphlet with the application. Even she couldn't mess that up, and if the combat records were any indication this Ranma Saotome would be one of the better candidates the Galaxy Police had seen in years.

The A.I. was rather pleased with himself. After all, it was fool proof. Even Mihoshi couldn't possibly mess this one up.

oOo

Airi raised one delicate eyebrow as she read the report, her interest slowly peaking as the details went on. She'd already keyed Mikami's line before she finished the third paragraph.

"Mikami, have you read this?" Airi demanded incredulously, a wide grin on her face as she continued to read the report. "According to this, a sixteen year old boy on Earth managed to take down Saffron!"

"I've read the report," the older woman admitted, smiling slightly. "I agree with the appended comments. Certainly the boy can't be fully human if he's capable of fighting a criminal of that level."

"So you'd like to test him?" Airi asked, folding her hands and leaning forward in her chair. "I'll admit, it'd be nice to have someone interesting around the academy. Poor Seina and his brides are so busy these days they hardly drop by to see us at all!"

"Interesting? That's one way to put it, I suppose," Mikami admitted with a light chuckle. "I'm not sure I care if he's interesting or not but I do think he'd be a good addition to the Galaxy Police. I'll tell Mihoshi to scan him from her ship, and, if he's not human, we can see if he's willing to join."

With a nod Mikami cut the line while Airi continued to read. This could get very interesting indeed, the green-haired lady noted to herself. Saffron certainly hadn't been a slouch if his record was accurate so if the boy's opponent was any indication of what he himself could do, the results would be fantastic.

oOo

To say that Mihoshi was surprised to find a recorded image from her great aunt waiting on her ship was an understatement. She'd gotten occasional letters from her family in the time she'd been on Earth, but never anything delivered in an official capacity. Her great aunt had plenty to say to her niece, but the Headmistress of the Galaxy Police Academy rarely had anything to say to a detective stationed on an out-of-the-way, low tech planet.

"Detective First Class Mihoshi, we've become aware of someone in your area we believe would be an ideal candidate for recruitment into the ranks of the Galaxy Police," her great aunt began immediately, and the blond woman watching the blond woman's message nodded as Yukinojo automatically raised a picture of a young, dark-haired man with a red silk shirt in the corner of the window. "You are to perform a thorough scan of the young man, as indicated in the supplementary report attached to this file, and if he's not human you are to do your best to have him enroll in the Galaxy Police Academy!"

The older blond paused, her face forming a rare, stony mask.

"This boy defeated an intergalactic space pirate without any measurable weapons and all available records indicate he's just a regular student in a nearby ward's high school," Aunt Mikami continued, smiling a bit. "Obviously this isn't entirely true. If possible, do your best to uncover the secret behind his power.

"Take care, and good luck!" The video ended with a broad smile from the detective's stout aunt, and Mihoshi nodded to herself.

"Yukinojo, can you perform a scan from here?" the blue-eyed detective asked, eyes travelling up to where her A.I.'s robotic interface had lowered from the cieling.

"I'm sorry, Detective Mihoshi. My systems are not calibrated to perform a scan like this without moving closer to the subject," the robot concluded in a light tone. "I suggest relocating the ship to the Nerima ward so that I can run a detailed scan."

"Alright Yukinojo, let's go!" Mihoshi concluded with a broad smile.

"We can't go yet, Detective Mihoshi! My systems can't mask our presence from radar during the daytime!" The A.I. mourned, causing the blond to groan. "The appended report suggests familiarizing yourself with the available data on the subject. Would you like me to bring it up for... Detective Mihoshi! You can't sleep now!"

"Wake me up when we can move closer, Yukinojo," Mihoshi yawned, moving to the back of the ship. Some days, the A.I. lamented, it wasn't worth doing his job. No matter how much his basic programming told him otherwise.

oOo

Several hours later, Mihoshi was awake and dressed in a conservative business outfit. The scans of the subject, Ranma Saotome, had been inconclusive about his species in particular, but conclusively proved one thing: He was not human.

The scanners, even at their strongest, had not been able to detect the specifics of his genetic makeup. They had revealed a very strong energy field which directly effected his biorythmic pattern. More importantly, the pattern had been detected in only four other people in Tokyo, one of them, the strongest, being his father. Clearly it was a trait of whatever species he was, getting weaker with each generation of humanity his ancestors bred with. After all, what other explanation could there be for the strong energy pattern affecting scans of both father and son while the other three were so weak?

That more than qualified him for entry into the Galaxy Policy. Thus, with the translucent orange folder in hand and a plan in mind, Mihoshi made her way on foot through Nerima towards the target's address. He would receive a good education and a guaranteed job if he graduated... Who wouldn't want that?

The blond woman arrived at the Tendo Dojo and didn't hesitate to knock firmly on the large gate. She blinked at the sign to the side of the gate: 'To face the inhabitants of the dojo in mortal combat, use the rear entrance.'

Then the door opened.

"Hello, can I help you?" Mihoshi looked at the question to find herself face to face with a young woman of average height, a soft smile greeting her. Long brown hair was pulled into a ponytail hanging over one shoulder, and the girl's willowy frame was clothed in a bright sundress under a white apron.

"Yes, hello! I'm here to see Ranma Saotome," the blond detective stated.

"Oh please, come in. You're in luck," the young woman informed the blue-eyed officer. As Mihoshi followed the woman inside the gate, the brunette smiled once more. "Normally Ranma is playing with one of his friends after school. He has so much fun with them... but sometimes the property damage is quite terrible."

"Property damage?" Mihoshi asked, eyes widening.

"Oh yes. The construction companies around here send us a gift basket every week," the woman admitted, opening the front door. Mihoshi slipped off her shoes and followed the young woman down a small hallway. Sitting at a table with a pair of books opened up was a young man. The one from the report Yukinojo had filed. "Ranma? You have a guest."

"Oh yeah?" Ranma asked, bored eyes lifting from his notebook to the blond. After a moment of awkward silence, Mihoshi began.

"Saotome-san, how would you like a scholarship to the best school you could possibly go to?"

oOo

The bustle downstairs was enough to disturb Nabiki's calculations as she tabulated numbers from recent business ventures. With darkly quiet mutters, the middle Tendo sister stood from her desk and walked to the door, hearing a murmur of voices float up to the landing. She walked down the stairs to find Kasumi, her father, and Genma crouched at the living room door.

"Kasumi, what's going on?" Nabiki asked, annoyed. Her sister merely shhh'd her, raising one finger to her lip and waving the younger girl over. Nabiki strode over to the door and peeked in, finding Ranma sitting across the living room table from a stunning blond woman, darkly tanned skin contrasting her light-colored business suit. In the pigtailed boy's hands he held a translucent orange folder, held open to some paperwork.

"I don't know, Nabiki. This woman has come to offer Ranma an all-expenses paid trip to the finest school available! He's must have gotten a scholarship for Tokyo University," Kasumi whispered reverently, turning to listen to the conversation. Intrigued, Nabiki joined her sister at the door.

"So, Saotome-san, do you accept the offer?" The woman asked pointedly, her voice firm but polite. Nabiki couldn't believe the way Ranma's head slowly began to shake and marched it.

"Saotome, don't be an idiot. A chance like this comes along once in a lifetime. You'd be a fool not to take it," Nabiki warned with a quiet chuckle. She crossed her arms and leaned against one of the walls. "Or is the big, bad martial artist afraid of some paperwork?"

Pushing the boy's buttons had always been easy. For all his talk about martial arts being based in deception, he may as well have labelled his pride with a sign saying 'tug for a reaction'.

"I ain't afraid of anything!" Ranma retorted, flipping past the pages in the folder and filling in the information in the back of the pamphlet. He slid the folder across the desk to the blond woman. "I accept the offer, Kuramitsu-san!"

"Great!" The blond chirped, smiling broadly as she picked up the folder. "Someone from GP will be by tomorrow to pick you up, so get ready for your journey! Take care and good luck!"

Without another word, the blond woman was gone.

"Wait, GP?" Nabiki muttered, tapping her jaw thoughtfully. One eye went to Ranma, who was sitting wide-eyed at the table. "Wait, Saotome... I thought Kasumi said the offer was for a Tokyo University scholarship. Why would you have to move anywhere?"

"I dunno," Ranma shrugged, yawning as he got to his feet. "She was going on and on about how great this school was. I don't think it's Tokyo University, now that I think about it. The pictures looked really advanced."

"So you just signed up to go to school somewhere, and you're not even sure where?" Nabiki asked with a dry chuckle. She raised one eyebrow. "And you did that simply because I dared you to?"

The look on Ranma's face as it froze was priceless. There were some days when Nabiki wished she carried her camera around with her at all times.

oOo

The next day, the sun was shining brightly as it crested the horizon. Nabiki was not awake to see this joyous dawn, preferring to sleep in a bit. She was just stirring as she heard Genma's dismayed shout of "The boy is missing!"

That snapped her awake. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and slowly got out of bed, making sure she was wearing a pair of pajama bottoms before venturing out to see what the latest catastrophe was. Genma was frantically running around the house, opening closets and cupboards as if the pigtailed martial artist might be hiding in one of them. Her father was helping with the search, she noted. She walked downstairs, checking the dojo. Neither Ranma nor Akane were in the training hall.

After checking the bathroom and finding it unoccupied, the middle Tendo sister stopped to poke her head in the kitchen,.Nabiki verified that Kasumi had not seen the aquatranssexual this morning. That left only the guest room. She immediately noticed the thing the elder Saotome had missed in his haste to find out where Ranma was: the futon was made neatly. Far more crisply folded than Ranma's housekeeping skills would have suggested. She grabbed one corner of the blanket and threw it off.

Under the covers was a letter, with a holographic symbol floating above the ordinary paper. It detailed his admission to the 'Galaxy Police', along with notes that someone would be by later to allow the family to record their 'farewell' to him. Hearing Akane return from her morning jog as she tapped the note, Nabiki wondered if, perhaps, her pigtailed brother-in-law-to-be was in over his head this time.

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oOo

Ranma groaned as he awoke, noting the darkened room in which he lay and the soft bed underneath. The soft bed which, after a moment's thought, he knew was not the futon he'd gone to sleep on last night. Blue eyes snapped open as he felt the last vestiges of sleep wash away.

The room was, floor to cieling, a light grey metal. Opposite the bed he lay on was another bed, neatly made, and between the two was a small wooden table. The only other piece of furniture was a bookshelf though the entire unit appeared to be sealed with a seamless clear cover, much to Ranma's confusion.

All of which told him he very obviously wasn't in the room he shared with his father. He was pretty sure he wasn't in the Tendo house at all, come to think of it. Given the heat of the summer, all he'd been wearing when he'd gone to sleep was boxers and a muscle shirt... Which were, of course, the only clothing he still wore. He swung his legs out of the bed and stood, shivering slightly at the cold metal underneath his feet.

A translucent, slightly green rectangle popped up in front of the pigtailed boy, startling him into falling back on to the bed. The screen bobbed down with him, settling at a comfortable viewing height as an elegant-looking woman with purple hair popped onto the screen. Her smooth face was framed by two long ponytails which seemed to have been flipped forward over her head, appearing at first like bangs.

"Good morning, cadet Saotome!" the pink-eyed woman chimed, seeming to ignore Ranma's utter confusion. Ranma poked the screen, paling slightly when the prodding finger went directly through the image with no resistance. "I'm glad that you're awake. We're just about to enter a hyperspace jump."

"Wait, cadet Saotome?" Ranma muttered, scratching his jaw. He stood, walking over to the door. The screen rose and followed him, much to Ranma's growing apprehension. "Hey, where's the door handle!?"

"I'm sorry but per Galaxy Police regulations, untrained civilians aren't allowed on the bridge of a vessel this size when we're about to enter a hyperspace jump," his kidnapper commented, her smile dropping a bit before brightening again. "You're perfectly safe in my hands. I'll have you at the academy before you know it"

"Wait, what!?" Ranma demanded, pounding on the door. "Let me out! I've got school, damn it!"

"Of course, you're on your way there right now," the woman informed him distractedly, growing somewhat annoyed. "We'll be there in a few hours. I can understand wanting to rush to something but this is ridiculous. We'll be there soon."

With a hmph, the screen disappeared, leaving Ranma to bang uselessly on the door.

oOo

Author's Notes:

What's this? Another story!? I haven't abandoned my other stories, I promise. I just couldn't help myself after watching Tenchi GXP the other night. Um. So yeah. Don't hurt me, please!

I started writing this with the express intent of NOT involving Ranma with any of the Tenchi cast until he'd been noticed by the Galaxy Police once I decided on my outline. There's **far** too many crossovers which rely on Ranma or someone Ranma knows being somehow related to Tenchi or otherwise being half-Jurian. It's gone beyond cliche and into the downright repetitive.

Ranma's human and not related to anyone at the Masaki shrine. Jusenkyou curses just confuse Yukinojo's sensors a bit, leading Mihoshi to draw an incorrect conclusion. So yes, the three other readings mentioned were Shampoo, Mousse, and Ryouga.

-Gaming Ikari

v1.1 Airi's hair is _green_ and I promise not to upload anything in the wee hours of the morning until next time I do it.  
v1.2 Some spellchecking and correction of a name.  
v1.5 Rewrote two scenes to better bridge the gap between Mihoshi entering the dojo and Nabiki tricking Ranma into accepting as well as developing the "Ranma is Gone" portion into a full scene. Added a new scene to the end


	2. Chapter 2

Galaxy Police Cadet Scramble

oOo

Chapter 2

oOo

**Note: Chapter 1 has been revised. You will be confused if you don't go back to ensure you've read the scenes added on to the end of it.**

oOo

It only took half an hour for Miz Mishtal to grow annoyed enough with the incessant banging to finally get out of her chair and do something about it. They'd made good progress, but some interference from a local star had caused the jump to fall short. Glaring at the stars which were NOT anywhere near the Galaxy Police Academy, the indigo-tressed woman got out of her seat and headed towards the rear of the ship.

She focused her mind on the ring on her hand, using the stone to focus her natural powers. Water flowed around in her ribbons as she reached the door. Her hand paused an inch from the door's release button and the woman wondered briefly if she'd remembered to close the access panel to her books. Water and paper didn't mix well. Then she remembered she'd programmed the panel to close automatically.

A small grin dawned on her face. Time to show the upstart cadet who was in charge. One hand tapped the button and the other raised to ready a stream of water.

"Water!?" The young man groaned, blue eyes going wide in surprise. Miz grinned at the expected look of shock. The grin faded into a dropped jaw as the boy bent backwards at the waist, the water spraying harmlessly over his horizontal torso. Cutting the flow, the water-empowered woman raised her other hand to give the boy a good dousing.

She was completely unprepared for him to backflip over her table, kick it up with one foot, and brace it vertically to stop every last drop of water from touching him. As she cut the flow of water, she distinctly heard the boy mutter to himself, "Why is it always water?"

"Have you settled down, cadet Saotome?" Miz asked primly, carefully moving around the table to look the pigtailed young man in the eyes. Inwardly, she was reassessing his combat prowess. She hadn't had time to read much of the report, gleaning only that the boy had taken down a considerably notorious space pirate and he possessed some sort of strange energy field. She noted that perhaps it would be wise to assess some of his capabilities.

"So, are you in the habit of kidnapping people in their sleep?" Saotome demanded sourly, casually righting the table and sitting down on one of the beds. Miz smiled a bit and sat down opposite the confused youth.

"Normally no. However, we did tell you to be ready for transport in the morning. I tried to wake you several times, but you seemed to just dodge or roll out of the way every time I attempted to shake you awake. So I simply transported you to my ship," Miz finished, arching one eyebrow. "I do have a schedule to keep, you know."

"Okay fine, but what is this Galaxy Police thing?" The boy wondered, scratching the base of his pigtail. His eyes wandered up to stare at the ceiling. "I originally thought that I was getting a scholarship to Tokyo University."

"Oh, well this is certainly going to be awkward, then," Miz commented with a giggle. One finger rose to rest on the tip of her jaw as she carefully wondered how to word the young man's situation. "Detective Kuramitsu was supposed to brief you on the situation before you accepted."

"She did. Sorta. Well, not really," Ranma muttered, finally shaking his head. "I guess I made a bit of an assumption based on what she said, but she never said anything about Galaxy Police."

"Well, if the name didn't make it obvious, the Galaxy Police are an organization which seeks to maintain order throughout the entire galaxy. We're responsible for catching the most dangerous criminals, as well as keeping piracy at a minimum," Miz explained, frowning a bit as she noted the glazed look she was getting. "In short, you've signed up to be a police officer, cadet Saotome."

"So I'm gonna be some kinda space cop now?" Ranma groaned. His eyes wandered to the puddles on the floor. "It figures I go all the way into space and I run into some older chick who can control water. Just my luck."

Annoyed at the comment, Miz flicked a spray of water in the rude youth's direction. Her eyes widened at the sight of the tall young man turning into a well-endowed young woman with red hair.

"I gather this is the strange energy reading I found in my report?" Miz asked, gaping. The young... woman nodded, face grimacing. "Does your father change like this, too?"

"Sorta. He changes into a panda," Ranma grunted, her voice decidedly higher than it had been moments ago. Her gaze wandered around the small room. "Uh, do you have a tea kettle or something?"

"Why would you need that?" Miz asked, curious.

"I'd like to be a guy. Hot water changes me into one. So... How 'bout that tea kettle?" Ranma asked. Miz just smiled, concentrating a bit. Hot water splashed the girl, leaving a trail of steam vapour in it's wake. The girl yelped as she became a boy. "It doesn't have to be that hot."

"My apologies," Miz murmured, grinning to herself. Well, that was one mystery in the report resolved. Time for the other one. "I gather your physical abilities come from your father as well?"

"Yeah. When I was younger I wasn't as good as I am now, but when I finally hit puberty and grew up a bit I was able to match him," Ranma noted, crossing his arms.

"So does your mother have similar abilities?" Miz asked, leaning forward a bit and resting her chin on the top of one hand, elbow balanced delicately on her knee.

"Not really. She carries a katana around with her, but she's not really all that good with it," the blue-eyed boy noted, leaning back against the wall.

"I see," the water-user said, half to herself. Well, at least that part of the report had been accurate. Ranma possessed some decidedly inhuman transformation abilities passed down by his father and strength, speed, and dexterity far above the standard. The woman wondered what species the young man in front of her was.

It was common knowledge that a lot of the races could interbreed, and if the boy was from Earth it was a good bet that his genetic makeup was mostly human. Mostly being _something_ is what made the galaxy a more diverse place, and also caused a lot of confusion when trying to figure out just species a person was.

Her species looked almost exactly like humans, save for the rarer hair colour like her own. Yet her species also had the ability to control some sort of prime element, an ability easily enhanced through mundane technology. Oddly enough, even with some of the most powerful spectral-enhancement devices, such as her ring, no other species in the galaxy could control any sort of matter or energy they couldn't control naturally.

BAM! The sudden jolt of the ship combined with a temporary shift in gravity to hurl the Galaxy Police detective across the room. She winced, expecting her head to collide with the wall. Even with her body enhancement, this was going to sting.

Instead, warm arms caught her.

"What the hell was that?" Her pigtailed savior demanded, head snapping towards the doorway. The tall woman moved out his embrace towards the door, pigtailed youth close behind. She slapped the alarm button, killing the noise.

Her hand froze as she looked out the viewports and saw not stars, but the interior of a ship, close on both sides.

"Um, this is bad, right?" Ranma wondered blandly, moving close to the window and tilting his head to see the bottom of the hanger. "Crap, those guys have some weird guns or something. This _is_ bad."

"Pirates," Miz moaned, joining the young man. Below she could make out several humanoids in armor moving towards the bottom of her ship. She sighed, turning towards her companion. "At least they're not Bugrom. These guys will probably let us go."

"Probably?" Ranma queried, rubbing his jaw.

"Lone patrols like myself are usually ignored. It's not worth the chance of being labeled an active threat to the GP for loners. The only pirates who kill Galaxy Police officers are the major clans, and even they don't do it unless they feel they have to. I don't recognize these guys, so we should be alright. Unless they're slavers," Miz admitted, moving towards the locker at the back of the cockpit. She opened the door, revealing several pistols. She took one, handing the other to the confused boy. "Either way, we need to arm ourselves, just in case."

"I don't know how to use this!" The cadet objected, pushing the weapon back into her hands.

"Great, just great! Of course you don't have the weapon you need to fight," Miz growled, holstering the second pistol. She glared at the boy. Her stomach dropped as she saw the unlit A.I. No doubt the pirates had shut it down with an EMP burst. No help would be coming. "If you weren't using a gun like this, how exactly did you defeat Saffron?"

"With my bare hands," he replied, ignoring the way her jaw dropped as the powerful youth strode to the cockpit's door. He turned his head to look back at her. "So where are these jerks going to get on the ship? We should probably meet 'em there."

"Follow me," Miz commanded firmly, focusing her power to her ring. Perhaps she could negotiate something with the pirates. Regardless, it was obvious they wanted her alive or her ship intact. Either way, that might give her the leverage she needed to escape.

oOo

Ranma stood on one side of a narrow doorway, Miz on the other. She wore a sleeveless blue t-shirt over top of loose grey pants, held up by a belt with two holsters. One holster held the gun she'd tried to give him, while the other was empty, the gun held in her hands. Her light purple hair was tied back in two loose ponytails tossed sharply forward over her head by a pair of functional hair clips. Pink eyes narrowed as she stared through the doorway.

Down a short hallway lay a heavy ramp, one which was slowly opening. Bright light flooded in and the pigtailed boy nervously shifted to put a bit more of the wall between himself and the potential attackers.

"So, do you have a plan or anything?" The martial artist demanded, meeting Miz's calm eyes. She smiled a bit at him.

"When they come on board, I'm going to halt them with my water and see if they're willing to talk. Then we'll fly out of here. If we can," she added the last somewhat nervously, her eyes moving back towards the lowering ramp. The ribbons of water shifting around her body seemed to echo her nervous tension, flickering with every change in the pitch of the machinery.

A solid thus heralded the end of the ramp's movement and the beginning of rapid footsteps.

"Here they come," Ranma muttered to himself. Across the doorway, Miz thrust a hand forward, triggering a briefly-lived river which surged down the ramp. Ranma grinned at the sounds of dismay, happy the liquid was working for him instead of against him for once.

"I can keep doing that all day!" Miz called lightly with a grin, ducking back into the doorway. "You may send one person up to talk! Any more than that and you all get a second lesson about approaching me unasked."

"Dibs on the next group," Ranma whispered, hearing the sound of several boots coming up the ramp. Five men in body armour had just reached the top when the pigtailed boy spun into the doorway, a Moko Takabisha in one hand. The surprised pirates had time to start aiming their weapons when the blast struck the one in the lead, the resulting concussive force throwing the pirates quickly down the ramp. The martial artist grinned at the look on the detective's face as she stared at him. His head turned towards the ramp. "Just like the lady said, we can do this all day! Only one guy comes up, or I continue bowling with you jerks!"

"Alright, you've made your point." A cultured voice called up as Ranma ducked back behind the archway of the door. Slow footsteps came up the ramp, revealing a pale, stern-looking man in his mid-thirties. Silver hair held back by a golden chain flowed down his back, and he worse simple green and beige robes which stopped at midthigh over tight black pants. Miz stepped into the doorway to meet the man's gaze. "So one of you is Muldoonese, and the other is armed with quite the fierce energy rifle. Impressive concussive force I'll admit... Though it hardly got through my men's armour."

"I'm sure you're aware of the fact you've unlawfully detained a Galaxy Police vessel. I demand you release us at once!" Miz said sternly, one hand ready to raise her gun while water frothed in the other.

"I'm sorry but after seeing you, I can't," the man admitted with a mocking bow. "If your companion is half as good-looking as you, we'll fetch quite the fine price for you at a little market I know. It was quite the lucky strike to run into you, actually. We've already got one Roshtarian on board."

"Do you seriously think the Galaxy Police will stand for this sort of behavior? Even now my ship's A.I. is sending a distress signal, and no doubt he caught sight of your ship's make and markings," Miz countered, the only sign of her distress the flickering of the water in her hand. "Do you really want a destroy-on-sight mark on your record?"

"Ladies like yourself shouldn't try to bluff while manipulating an element," the man informed with a cold grin, crossing his arms. "It tends to underscore feelings of doubt and fear when they waver like that. You and anyone else on this ship have five minutes to come out unarmed. That includes the lamp on your finger, my dear. If not, we're coming in after you."

The tall man strode back down the gantry, and Ranma was sorely tempted to blast him with a bolt of chi. He held back at a sharp look from Miz.

"So, what do we do now?" Ranma pondered, eyes warily gazing at the ship's exit. He cracked his knuckles, forcing a grin. "Do you have any idea how big this ship is? If it's only a couple dozen goons like those five who tried to get in here before, we can take 'em."

"I have no idea," the woman admitted calmly, undoing the belt which held her weapons. A determined pink gaze met Ranma's. "I'm going to need you to trust me, cadet."

oOo

Miz felt decidedly vulnerable without her weapons or her lamp. Without the benefit of the ring, she couldn't create more than a trickle of water. Even were she standing next to a pool of it, she lacked the strength to use it as an effective weapon. If it weren't for the strength she felt coursing through her limbs thanks to the body enhancement her job offered, she wouldn't have dared go through with this plan.

The graceful woman looked over at her ad-hoc partner. She still wasn't sure of his abilities or his experience. A wide band of of leather now held his hair back in a simple ponytail. He now wore a loose grey trousers, standard issue Galaxy Police uniform pants, having complained about the idea of going into potential battle with nothing but his underwear. Miz was grateful her locker had held the new nanite-fabric pants. Altering the size of fabric at a touch of a button was useful.

He looked extraordinarily calm walking down the gantry. He probably wasn't frightened, the woman noted. Of course he wouldn't be. The enemy didn't know he'd shot that blast unarmed. He was no more vulnerable now than he had been in the ship. The thought was comforting.

The sight that greeted her at the bottom of the ramp was not. At least one hundred men stood ready to fire, weapons primed and aimed at the duo. The arrogant leader, a victorious smirk on his face, gestured with one hand. Twenty men broke ranks, parting around Miz and Ranma to swarm up the ramp into the ship.

"I do hope nobody else is on the ship, _officer_," the man noted with a grim smirk, gesturing once again. Three men approached, two binding the pair's hands in front of them. Miz felt a sharp poke and a light pressure in her neck as the third man injected her with some sort of syringe. At the worried look on Miz's face, the leader chuckled. "It's not poison, my dear. Simply something which suppresses that wonderful body enhancement the Galaxy Police feels obliged to use on it's weaker members."

"We're co-operating, jerk," Ranma spat, taking a step forward. He froze at the sound of dozens of weapons clicking. He grinned at the man. "Hey asshole, got a name?"

"My name is Galus, my foul-mouthed friend," the silver-haired man sneered, waving someone forward. He turned to the man. "Give our friend the same shot we just gave the lovely detective. Just in case."

Ranma stood and glared at the man, not flinching as the syringe was jabbed into his arm.

"Well my friends, it would seem you two have a date with our brig," the man said jovially, turning to walk away. "See that they don't cause any trouble."

Miz felt the strength leaving her limbs as they were escorted through the hallways. It was hopeless. Even with her powers, they were hopelessly outgunned... and without the benefit of their superhuman strength, it would only take one shot to put them down. Every bit of her training now told her just how slim their odds of escape were.

A gentle nudge broke her reverie, and she glanced over to see Ranma's confident face.

"It didn't work," the young man whispered with a grin. It wasn't a grin full of warmth and joy. It was dark, feral... A promise of pain. What didn't work? Her eyes widened as she realized the 'it' was that shot. The one which had taken her strength. He nodded in response to the hopeful look she shot him.

"Quiet!" A rough shove caused the ponytailed youth to stumble to his knees. He quickly regained his feet, shooting a dark glare over his shoulder at the guard.

"When I get free of these handcuffs, you're first," he promised.

"Just keep moving, prisoner," the guard threatened, raising the butt of his rifle. Ranma sullenly kept walking. Miz stared at her companion in amazement.

Between the lamp hidden in his ponytail and the strength he was hiding now, perhaps they would get out of this after all.

oOo

Glossary:

**Roshtarian: **Generic term for a species of humanoid people from the planet Roshtaria. Genetically very similar to humans, though far more technologically advanced.

**Muldoonese: **Arace of Roshtarians from the Muldoon region. Similar to their fellow Roshtarians, though they have the ability to control one of the four elements: Earth, Air, Fire, or Water. This ability can be greatly enhanced with spectral-enhancement devices, stones placed in various jewellry typically referred to as "lamps".

Author's Notes:

You might have noticed I've borrowed a couple characters from El Hazard. Obviously there's going to be some differences, but the characters should be familiar to those of you who've seen the OVA series.

-Gaming Ikari


	3. Chapter 3

Galaxy Police Cadet Scramble

oOo

Chapter 3

oOo

**I posted this chapter within twelve hours of the previous chapter. I suggest quickly checking Chapter 2 to make certain you've read it.**

oOo

The ship's brig gave Miz her second burst of hope since surrendering. Only eight cells lined the walls, and only one was occupied. Each was small, fit for only two or three people at most. That meant that she and Ranma had seen the majority of the ship's crew. Over a hundred men, but that would be the limit. Escape wasn't as impossible as she'd initially feared.

The water-user stared at the unconscious young woman who lay on the neighboring cell's bed. Strange, bulky shackles bound her hands tightly, the only other adornment aside from a plain, a form-fighting black suit which stopped just over her breasts. Long brown hair spilled messily over the side. Occasionally she moaned weakly to herself and shifted. Each time, the motion produced a sharp jolt of electricity. Miz knew she recognized the young girl, but couldn't place where.

After being searched, the guards had simply left the prisoners to themselves. They didn't even warrant a single guard. Miz felt a little insulted by that, but decided not to say anything to the departing guards.

"I'm bored of this already," Ranma growled from across the hallway, as soon as the doors slid shut. He banged one handcuffed fist against the forcefield, watching the blows dissipate harmlessly over it's smooth surface. "Can we break out of here already? The more I see of these jerks, the more I want to hit them."

"We should wait," Miz informed him primly, settling down to sit straight-backed on her bed, feet crossed at the ankles. "Right now the entire crew is on alert. They're still ready for an attack. At least part of that large force of men have remained to do a thorough search of my ship, and more are no doubt on standby right there to prevent any escape attempt we might make. If we wait for a few hours the crew will be scattered around the ship and our chances of escape are that much higher."

"If you say so," the boy muttered, hitting the shield with another frustrated punch. Miz raised one delicate eyebrow at the flash of red the blow caused: Even with her enhanced strength, actually stressing the shield like that would have been beyond her. He stepped up on to his bed,spinning to sit cross-legged on top of the blankets. "So what should I call you?"

"Pardon me?" Miz asked, momentarily confused.

"You haven't old me your name yet," Ranma informed her. He flashed her a grin. "You already know mine. It's only fair you tell me yours, right?"

"You're right," Miz admitted with a small blush. Well, that had certainly been a rude omission. "To be fair, we had other things on our minds."

"I guess," the boy said with a shrug.

"My name is Miz Mishtal," the purple-tressed lady told him, folding her hands and resting them lightly on one knee. "I'm a First-Class Detective with the Galaxy Police."

"I see," the blue-eyed young man commented, scratching his neck. "So, the water... Is that a trick I can learn, or is it something only you can do?"

"No to both, actually," Miz said with a chuckle. "You may have heard our rude friend Galus call me Muldoonese. It's a relatively small country where I was born, on the planet Roshtaria. The people from Muldoon have a natural affinity for working with certain types of matter and energy... Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. That ring Galus asked me to remove simply allows me to focus that affinity."

"So is everyone as strong as you are?" Ranma wondered.

"Some are. One of my fellow detectives can actually use Fire and there's a young girl at the Academy who can use Water better than I can," the pink-eyed woman admitted with a chuckle, her mind wandering. "It seems that strength in the talent is largely the province of women. While there have been a few men who can use Muldoon's talent just as effectively, they're far from the norm."

The boy merely nodded. The two sat quietly for a few minutes, listening to the hum of the forcefields.

"I wonder why that chick's out cold like that," Ranma finally said, breaking the silence. Miz focused on the girl once more, struggling to place her. "It's almost like those shackles are preventing her from waking up."

"I think you may be right," Miz agreed, bringing one hand up to cup her jaw, the other hand dangling due to the short chain. "It's the strangest thing. It feels like I've seen the girl somewhere before but for the life of me I can't say when or where."

"Huh," The ponytailed boy grunted, his attention wandering around the cell. After a moment his gaze met Miz's. "So, can we escape yet?"

Miz twitched. It was going to be a LONG wait.

oOo

"--nm-."

Ranma twitched, unwilling to part with slumber's warm embrace just yet.

"R--ma!"

The voice was insistent, yet the ponytailed youth had slept through far worse.

"Wake up, Ranma!"

The cry had grown urgent, and finally Ranma twitched awake. Something hovered at the edge of consciousness, demanding his attention. Something about being in space. Being kidnapped? His eyes flashed open, the last vestiges of sleep banished.

"Oh thank the gods," Miz cried in relief, and the martial artist noted the woman was standing right at the doorway to her cell. "I was worried that the injection they gave you earlier reacted badly to the human parts of your DNA."

"Nah," Ranma muttered, yawning loudly as he sat up. "I was just tired. So can we escape now?"

"Yes, we can escape now," Miz noted, somewhat exasperated. Ranma scowled as he got to his feet. It was a fair question! She didn't have to act like he'd been stupid for falling asleep.

"So, what's the plan?" Ranma asked, walking up to his own cell door. He banged it with his fist, noting the way the shield rippled, unharmed. "Can I beat this thing down? It doesn't seem to like it when I hit it."

"Unless you can hit the thing hundreds of times a second, no you can't just punch your way through." Miz commented distractedly, bending down to feel along the edge of her cell. She began to mutter to herself. "Now, if I can just find the control link... Got it!"

Miz's shield fizzled harmlessly, stealthily, as the moisture she conjured in between the components of the force field caused it to short-circuit with a quiet pop of displaced air. Miz sighed with relief as the defect caused no alarm to ring, caused no reason for the crew to suspect that she and her fellow inmates would soon be free.

Ranma's shield collapsed with a loud bang as hundreds of punches struck the surface in rapid succession, the energy caving to pure physical force. Red lights filled the room as a loud wail erupted from the speakers on the wall. Miz turned towards the young man in abject horror, her jaw agape.

"What!?" Ranma demanded, to which the pink eyed woman just slapped one hand over her eyes.

"When you said hitting it a couple hundred times would bring the shield down, I thought that was an option!" Ranma protested, crossing his arms defiantly. "You didn't say anything about it triggering an alarm!"

"Plan B, then," the woman sighed. She shot the cadet dirty look. "First, take these chains off of my hands. Then you stay by the doorway over there and make sure nobody comes in. I'll free the girl without triggering any more alarms."

"Okay," Ranma said with a shrug, snapping the chains holding his hands together. He walked over to Miz and snapped the chains between her manacles. He turned to walk over to the doorway, only to be stopped short as the purple-haired woman grabbed his ponytail. "Hey, leggo!"

"I'd like my lamp back, Ranma," the woman explained patiently. She tapped one foot. "Until this shot wears off, that's my only weapon. Your hair does not need to be tied back that badly."

The blue-eyed boy scowled, deftly untying the knotted leather before sliding the ring down his hair. The woman put it on, smiling as streams of water surrounded her. The smile turned to a grin as she turned to Ranma.

"Don't even think about it," Ranma warned, moving to the doorway as he retied his ponytail. As soon as they were back on Miz's ship, he was braiding his hair back into a proper pigtail. The way his hair was felt... unnatural. "Hurry up, will ya? These guys aren't going to ignore this for long."

"Who's fault is that?" The woman snapped, forcing a flood of water into the seams of the forcefield. This time the power source detonated spectacularly and she moved quickly into the now-open cell, checking the restraints. "Hey, get over here and get these restraints off of her! The sooner she can walk on her own, the better."

It was just as he turned away from the door that it opened, revealing a quartet of armed men holding rifles ready to fire.

oOo

It happened too fast. One minute they were alone and Ranma was moving to free the maddeningly familiar brunette laying senseless on the prison bunk. The next minute he was facing the wrong way from four armed men responding with lethal force to an alarm. Their weapons whined briefly as the pulse lasers charged.

"Ranma!" Miz cried. Too slowly. There was no way he could respond to her cry in time. The woman blinked, feeling her body move too slowly to prevent the tragedy about to unfold.

In that blink, Ranma managed to move from being out of position with his back turned to ducking under the blazing energy as it burned through the space he'd occupied. An instant later he was amidst the confused guards, dispensing violence with an incomparable speed and grace. It was over in seconds, the guards collapsing to the ground, the shattered remains of their armour clattering on the ship's deck.

The water-user shook her head to clear it as the ponytailed youth moved into the cell, shattering the bindings with one sharp blow, yet somehow managing not to harm the girl's hands. He gently picked her up, visibly wincing at the light moan the girl emitted.

Two more men burst around the corner, only to be violently blasted against the bulkheads of the hallway by two streams of water. They slumped to the ground unmoving as Miz flashed Ranma grin.

"You're not the only one who can fight these guys," she noted primly, receiving a chuckle in turn. He inclined his head, and Miz lead the way as they exited the brig. They began to run down the hallway, Miz leading the way with an arrow-shaped wave of water which blew back anyone in their way. "There's likely going to be something in the dock keeping us from taking off in my ship. We'll have to disable that if we want to escape!"

"Alright. You focus on the computer, I'll focus on the guards," Ranma told her, breaking into a sprint as they entered the hanger. He charged through an open doorway to one side, leaping hard into the room to deliver a kick to a man at a console. Ranma gently dropped the girl in his now-unoccupied seat and was on the rest of the room's occupants within seconds. Miz shut the door behind her as she entered the room, gazing in appreciating at the carnage.

"Good work, Ranma," the water user admitted with a smile. "That door won't hold them for long, so I'd better work fast."

"I'll buy you some time, then!" Ranma told her with a grin, opening the door. He froze at the sight of six men charging, blazing energy swords in their hands. "You guys have laser swords!?"

"Yes. Shut the door, it'll stop them for a few minutes," Miz commented distractedly.

"This is gonna be a blast!" Ranma told her with a grin, slapping the door's close button and diving through. The woman stared blankly at the door, going over the words in her mind a second time. Then a third. Yet no matter how many times she repeated the ponytailed boys words to herself, they made no sense whatsoever.

"Pity he's such an idiot," the woman finally muttered to herself, focusing on the task at hand. Even with the battle-crazed cadet holding back the enemies, she didn't have time for stunned silence. Beside her, the brunette began to stir.

oOo

Ranma ducked and weaved, deflecting energy blades with one he'd snagged from the first poor man to come within range. While he was decidedly hesitant to actually use the blade to attack any of the pathetic fighters trickling into the docking bay, he was happy to use it to deflect their own blades.

He was very thankful the men didn't seem inclined to use ranged weapons. No doubt putting holes in the walls this close to the edge of the ship wasn't the best of ideas, something which the ponytailed youth intended to exploit mercilessly.

Within minutes, he noticed that no more opponents were approaching, and so retreated to the doorway of the docking bay's office. Miz opened the door, her face grim.

"Is there a problem?" Ranma asked, groaning inwardly. Of course there was. His luck wouldn't allow anything less.

"The ship's completely locked down," the purple-haired woman moaned, eyes scanning over the numerous crumpled forms in the hangar. "Unless we find a computer specialist willing to crack the encoding, we're stuck."

"You can't do anything about it?" Ranma wondered, scratching his head.

"It's Roshtarian, so I recognize the lockout mechanism. There's no way we're getting through without the cardkey," Miz promised, and Ranma scowled. She glanced around. "This can't be everyone they have."

"It's not," the martial artist confirmed grimly. He gestured to the one door which hadn't yet disgorged enemies. "Either I've scared 'em all off, or they're waiting until enough guys get here to swarm us. Probably the second one."

"Close all the other doors, Ranma. I'm going to buy us some more time," Miz said as she lashed out one hand, a thick geyser of water shattering the control panel of the unopened door before buckling the thick doors. Ranma quickly moved to the other three access doors, closing them as his comrade then permanently locked them with her power. "Now we just have to figure out a way off this ship."

"It's not going to happen, my dear!" Galus snarled, and both Ranma and Miz turned to see a large screen projected on one wall of the ship bay. He held up one hand with a transparent card key. "This is the only way your ship can bypass that lockout, and by the time you even see it your mind will be wiped and you won't care about anything except making tea just right!"

"Ha! Big words from a guy who can't be bothered to come down and fight." Ranma retorted, flipping his energy blade through the air to embed itself in the projection's forehead. The black-haired youth was annoyed when the strike had no effect.

"Oh believe me, you're not going anywhere," the silver-haired man promised. His eyes narrowed as he lowered his head. "Not until I've extracted the damage you've done to my ship from your hides."

The transmission ended, and Ranma strode over to an unconscious guard and snagged another energy blade, slipping it into one of his pockets. They both returned to the control room.

"So, we're pretty much screwed unless we figure out a way past this Roshtarian control thing, right?" The blue-eyed boy asked blandly, sitting down on the control console. Miz nodded glumly, looking out the control room window at her ship. Escape was so close...

"That would... be my cue..." A voice groaned weakly, and Miz's eyes widened.

"Pri... Princess Fatora? Highness, I'm terribly sorry! I didn't recognize you!" Miz gasped, rushing to the brunette's side. Ranma followed more slowly, curious.

"So, how does this help?" Ranma wondered, scratching his chin.

"My family... has a way... with Roshtarian machines," the girl noted weakly with a sly grin, struggling to stand. She gasped and fell back, finally turning her gaze to the purple-haired woman at her side. "Help me to the... machine. I'll... get the ship... going."

Miz slung one of the young woman's arms over her shoulder, blushing slightly as the girl's other hand accidentally rose to steady herself on Miz's breasts. She walked the girl over to the lockout console, and the thin girl sat down almost reluctantly.

"So how's she going to work a computer in her state? She can barely stand, let alone type," Ranma noted sourly, eyes glancing nervously out the window at the main doorway, the first one Miz had shut. His eyes were on the shower of sparks which had suddenly appeared at one corner, slowly moving up the edge of the doorway.

"Who said... anything about typing?" The girl retorted weakly, roughly slapping one hand on the console. Various lights lit up faster than Ranma could follow, and the girl screamed as sparks erupted across the console. She slumped backwards, her eyes shutting as her breath became laboured.

"The ship is free!" Miz noted, eyes glistening. "Ranma pick her up! Let's get out of here!"

"Got it!" Ranma replied, gently picking the girl up and following Miz as she dashed back out into the hangar. The sparks were almost all the way around the door, and the trio reached the gangway of Miz's ship as the heavy door fell into the landing bay with a loud thud. Miz slapped the gantry button as Ranma's foot reached the top of the ramp, allowing only one laser blast to scream into the ship, passing inches to the side of purple hair.

They got to the bridge and Ranma quickly strapped Fatora into the seat before jumping into the co-pilot's chair and strapping himself in as well. Miz appeared engrossed in activating the console in front of her, though Ranma didn't feel the ship's engines starting up.

Galus's face appeared again on the monitor.

"Do you really think you can escape so easily?" The man sneered. "I've locked the forcefield that keeps the bay closed. You're no closer to escaping now than you were moments ago!"

"Try to sell me into slavery, will you?" The water-user muttered darkly, her fingers squeezing the triggers of both flight sticks held in a white-knuckle grip. Ranma flinched at the grin on her face, highlighted by brilliant blue energy temporarily blocking out the sight of the hangar.

When the light cleared, he was looking into space.

"Now we can go!" Miz said happily.

Ranma felt the engines power up. In the left and right viewports, Ranma could briefly see each half of the ship which had formerly been a prison before their own ship sped off. Moments later, they'd made the hyperspace jump and were well on their way to the Galaxy Police academy.

oOo

Glossary:

**Roshtarian Nobility: **The royal family of Roshtaria is noted for possessing an intuitive grasp of many different types of mechanical objects, seemingly able to manipulate some forms of technology at will, even without an interface. This is related to artifacts such as The Eye of God and any modern technology derived from it.

**The Eye of God:** An ancient Roshtarian artifact which formed the basis for many of that planet's space-age technology. Noted for possessing destructive power on par with third generation Juraian tree ships. Some technology used throughout the civilized universe is based on the principals learned from the study of this machine.

Author's Notes:

Miz can be... vindictive.

I'm going to be explaining some basic concepts in the Glossary for those unfamiliar with El Hazard, just to help keep things coherent. Fans of the series can use the glossary to note any changes I've made. Changes like giving Makoto's ability to manipulate Roshtarian technology to Fatora and Rune Venus.

There was a subtle shout-out to Gantz Abridged somewhere in this chapter. A cookie to whoever catches it.

-Gaming Ikari


	4. Chapter 4

Galaxy Police Cadet Scramble

oOo

Chapter 4

oOo

Ranma had incorrectly assumed that when they'd escaped from Galus' spaceship, they would be arriving at the Galaxy Police academy within hours. He assumed he'd be able to straighten out the misunderstanding and be back at the Tendo dojo in time for breakfast the next morning.

Such was not, in fact, the case. In the hours they'd spent in the slaver's brig, Galus and his subordinates had apparently been busy salvaging parts from Miz's ship to repair their own. Normally this wouldn't have been cause for concern save for one thing: While they had left the hyperspace engine intact, they'd not had the same courtesy regarding the hyperspace navigational computer.

Thus, the moment they'd performed a blind jump to escape from the pirates and gain the breathing room they needed to calculate a route to the Galaxy Police headquarters, they'd become irrevocably lost. While Miz could have navigated manually from where they'd been ambushed, the same could not be said given their current location.

The water-user had reluctantly told Ranma that she had no idea where in the galaxy they were. For all she knew, the Galaxy Police could be a few days of travel at regular speed or halfway across the galaxy. Worse yet, the EMP blast which had disabled the A.I. had also irrevocably fried their communications system. They had no way of calling for help.

Right now, their only hope was for Miz to repair the A.I. core enough so that it could reference the relative position of the stars around them to provide the older woman with a rough estimate of where they were. That would enable her to manually plot a hyperspace jump. It was that or jump randomly, a tactic Miz felt was at best reserved for a last resort without their navigational computer online.

"Would you please you pass me the magwrench?" Miz called from where she was buried elbow deep in one of the cockpit's control panels. Beside her, Ranma turned his blank stare from where she lay on the ground to the interior of her toolbox. When his gaze turned back to her, she sighed. "The one with the red handle."

Handing her the tool, he noted Miz's annoyed look.

"Look, you can't really help me. Would you perhaps check on Princess Fatora? I'm beginning to get worried about her. She should have woken up by now," Miz muttered, her gaze turning back to the underside of the console. She delicately lifted the magwrench inside to some component unseen to her pigtailed observer.

"Sure. It's not like I got anything better to do," Ranma muttered to himself, standing.

After checking the sleeping quarters and finding the princess still asleep, Ranma casually sniffed under his arm. Yep. Time for a shower. He entered the bathroom and found a spare set of the nanite clothing. After fiddling around with it a bit, he discovered how to change the size.

He stepped into the shower stall and turned the knob for hot water. He yelped as cold water blasted him mercilessly, switching his gender. Try as she might, nothing would increase the temperature of the water. With a shrug, the pigtailed girl quickly showered. Miz would be able to switch her back afterwards. After drying off, the redhead donned the clean clothing and left the bathroom.

"Hey Miz, what's the deal with this shower? Why isn't there any warm water?" Ranma demanded, annoyed.

"Sorry, Ranma... The EMP blast knocked a lot of systems off line," Miz said, not turning her head towards Ranma, focused on her work. "I guess it got the water heater as well. Frankly, we're lucky the engines were working when we boarded the ship."

"Oh. So, do you think I could get a splash of hot water?" Ranma asked, quietly.

"Sorry, I can't make warm water without my lamp, and it's in the bedroom. If you get it, I'll change you back," Miz offered, ratcheting her arm. Several pops from inside the console caused her to smile.

Ranma wordlessly entered the bedroom again, noting that the princess was now stirring. She knelt by the brunette, casually shaking her shoulder.

"Hey, you alright?" Ranma asked quietly, concerned. Whatever that trick she'd done with the lockout on Galus' ship had looked pretty draining... and the girl hadn't been in good shape to begin with.

Fatora's eyes slowly opened, then focused on the martial artist.

Then the girl grinned. Ranma felt something deep within his soul tremble at the sight: A small, plump herbivore under scrutiny by something with large jaws and a voracious appetite. Like a predator the girl lunged and Ranma found herself being kissed. Soft lips pressed against her own as the girl's light body tackled her to the floor.

It was actually kind of pleasant. Then a probing hand found it's way into the pigtailed girl's pants and Ranma remembered she was a girl. The redhead yelled in surprise.

oOo

"Gwaah! What the hell!?"

Miz's head smacked sharply against the edge of the console at the yell, and she quickly slid out from under her work, sitting up and rubbing her head. Hearing more commotion drift in from the bedroom, she rushed to the door and opened it.

Fatora lay straddled against Ranma's female form, pinning the girl to the deck. Helpless blue eyes looked up. "Miz, help!"

Miz laughed at the panic, quickly grabbing her lamp from on top of her bookshelf and channeling a bit of hot water onto Ranma. The change was immediate, and if she remembered correctly, would certainly resolve the problem the boy was having with Fatora.

oOo

The change was subtle, and Fatora was at first too caught up in nibbling the beautiful redhead's ears and kissing her to notice. Then little things started to drift into her consciousness.

That lovely soft chest which had supported her own was now flat, more broad and decidedly unsoft. The feel of the lips beneath her own was different, less full. She opened her eyes and found they'd changed, the cheekbones shifting higher and the shape altering subtlely to become comprised of sharper planes. Black bangs had replaced red... In fact, only the eyes were the same.

And... Her hand was now full. The fact seemed incongruous with what she'd felt just a moment ago. She remained confused until a horrible thought occurred to her.

She squeezed.

Yep.

It was.

This time it was the Roshtarian Princess who screamed.

oOo

"Unclean... My hand is unclean, now," Fatora moaned, having leaped away from Ranma with all the speed she'd possessed. Ranma shot her a glare, shifting his pants. She returned it with interest, growling, "You've sullied my purity!!"

"Who's sullied who!?" The pigtailed fighter demanded in response, standing. He crossed his arms. "I didn't do anything but get ambushed! You're the one to blame, here!"

"It's not MY fault!" The girl snapped, staring at her hand as if to scorch the skin from her bones. Volatile eyes turned slowly to meet Ranma's. "I thought you were a girl! Why would I want anything to do with a boy!?"

"What's wrong with guys?" Ranma muttered angrily, sitting down on his bed.

"You're all nasty, oafish, pigheaded... and you're just so gross! All muscles and bone, no softness to you whatsoever!" The girl turned her gaze to Miz and grinned. "Now that's what beauty looks like."

"Hey, men ain't ugly!" Ranma sputtered in protest, pointing a finger at her while Miz took a not-so-casual step away from easy grabbing range of the brunette.

"Oh yeah? Well if you like men so much, why did you kiss back? Even you'll admit that girls are better than boys!" The princess crowed.

"It's not even remotely the same thing," Ranma said with a deep scowl. "Guys like girls and girls like guys. That's just how it us!"

"Not for this girl," Fatora chuckled. She turned her attention to the purple-haired detective. "Speaking of which, why are you so shy, officer? I'd like to thank you personally for the rescue. Who knows what those awful men would have done to me..."

"Your thanks are enough," Miz coughed, taking another step back. She pointedly looked away from Ranma. "I should get back to work."

With that, she quickly exited the room, leaving Fatora to glare at Ranma. After a moment of returning the glare, Ranma decided that the best tactic for dealing with the excitable girl would be to fall back on the tried and true.

"You're just jealous," Ranma informed her with a smug grin.

"Excuse me?" Fatora retorted, crossing her arms. She seemed to flinch a moment later, carefully removing her "soiled" hand and holding it away from herself with a shudder. Her eyes narrowed at the young man. "Are you going to explain that?"

"Well, it's obvious why you like girls," Ranma told her, leaning back casually. "I mean, I'm a guy and I'm more feminine than you are. Compared to me, what man would want you? It's just a lack of options, I say."

"I'll have you know I've had hundreds of men come to my planet, begging for the chance to court me!" Fatora snapped, leaning forward. "How does that make you feel, smartass!?"

"Sorry for whichever poor bastard doesn't have the smarts to run away after meeting you," Ranma replied quickly, chuckling at the enraged look on her face. "So is the doomed man finally gonna be chosen by drawing a short straw or is it whoever's too slow to outrun your guards?"

"Just what are you implying?" Fatora demanded, taking a step closer.

"Imply nothing, I'll tell you flat out!" Ranma snapped, sitting forward. Their faces were inches away from one another and the way the Roshtarian princess' eyes were twitching was too perfect. She'd just need one more nudge. "You couldn't catch a man with a cage and instructions! That's why you have to stick with women... and you're not even successful at getting them!"

"Die!" Fatora growled, launching herself at Ranma once more. There was no lust in her eyes this time, though they still shone with a predatory gleam.

oOo

Miz hummed to herself as she worked on the A.I. A twist here, replacing a crystal module there, all that she needed to do to get the poor thing back online again. She ignored the sounds of struggle from her sleeping quarters with ease, content to let Ranma deal with the irate girl instead of having to deal with the girl's obvious lust herself.

She'd just fixed internal communications when she noticed the lack of a commotion. The sudden silence was unnerving enough the Miz slid out from the console a moment to glance speculatively at the door separating the bridge from the bedroom. She was in no way opposed to leaving the two of them to sort out their problems... especially when it meant lessening her own. However, she was essentially responsible for them both and if anything bad happened, the responsibility fell to her.

"Oh please! If I bothered to date you, you'd never look back!" Ranma's voice was mostly muffled by the doorway, but perfectly understandable.

"I wouldn't enjoy a date with you even if you had a Y chromosome!" Fatora's return snarl was a little harder to understand, but understand it Miz did. Rather than strain her ears, the purple-haired lady opened a link between the bridge and the sleeping quarters.

"Put your money where you mouth is, then!" Her pigtailed cadet's retort was officially making her sorry she could hear the conversation. She felt the beginnings of a headache forming. One part of her wanted to storm in and remind the boy that he was dealing with royalty. The other part, the part that liked having a career with a future, wanted nothing to do with getting involved with this mess.

"Fine! After you fail to show me a good time, you have to swear to be my servant!" Fatora's voice managed to sound triumphant and angry at the same time, something the detective felt was rather impressive.

"Fine! When you admit you've been wrong about men this entire time and find out just what you've been missing, you get to be MY servant!" The pigtailed headache sounded insufferably smug.

"Deal!"

Rather than listen to anything more, Miz thumbed the internal communications offline. Then she realized she wouldn't really have to use the bathroom for a while and would rather prefer not to have to deal with either of the petty teenagers in the next room, and so engaged the lock.

Two hours later, her A.I. Makoto was up and running and she'd plotted a course to the Galaxy Police academy. Nothing, not the largest pirate fleet, nor Lady Seto herself, could stop her from delivering the pair into hands other than her own.

oOo

Appendix:

**Roshtarian Political Marriages:** Regardless of their feelings on the matter, Roshtarian nobility are expected to produce at least one heir to the throne if they are within the direct line of succession. Though they need not limit their liaisons to their political spouse, they are expected to become intimately involved with them. In the past, drastic actions have been taken to ensure the birth of an heir when it seemed the natural flow of events would cause the end of the Roshtarian royal line.

Author's Notes:

Go ahead and say "Fatora retorted" out loud three times. I dare you. Oh, and Makoto won't be showing up, obviously. I felt bad about cutting him out entirely, so he gets a cameo as Miz's A.I. Sorry to any of his fans, but I had to hijack SOMEONE'S harem.

If anyone thinks Ranma's reaction to Fatora's sexuality is out of character, I'll refer you to his reaction to Tsubasa. He isn't the most politically correct individual when it comes to gender and sexuality.

I didn't even realize the fun I could have with Fatora and Ranma until I started writing this chapter. Then... Then I couldn't help myself. Expect Fatora to stay around for a while. She's just too much fun to write... though she'll be difficult. Nobody challenges her the way Ranma would. I'm essentially going to have to start making assumptions and bridging gaps.

-Gaming Ikari


	5. Chapter 5

Galaxy Police Cadet Scramble

oOo

Chapter 5

oOo

Miz couldn't conceal the broad grin she wore as she strode through the hallways of the Galaxy Police Academy. She had actually made it back with both of her charges. The two teenagers followed her through the maze of shining corridors, blissfully quiet. Ranma was too busy frantically flipping through the paperwork of his admissions file and Fatora appeared shell shocked about the bet she'd made.

Miz didn't really care: Whatever kept them silent was fine by her.

oOo

Fatora's brown eyes considered the young man walking beside her, lost in the paperwork. He'd muttered something about 'fixing the mistake' when they'd left the ship. That wouldn't do at all. Ranma's male form was boring. Nothing she really wanted to see.

The redhead, on the other hand... Well, action had to be taken. She knew she'd win her bet. And then... Then... Oh, the things she would do. Alielle would no doubt have a lot of fun with the prospect as well. It was certainly something to look forward to.

"Hey, you're going to quit the academy?" Fatora asked, glancing over towards Ranma as they walked. The pigtailed boy looked up from his folder with an annoyed shrug. "Well, if you want to chicken out..."

"Wait, whaddaya mean, chicken out?" The predictable youth demanded, snapping the folder shut to brazenly glare at the princess. "I'm not scared of anything!"

"Oh yeah? So why are you so eager to run back to your backwoods home planet, then?" the Roshtarian demanded smugly, crossing her arms. She shrugged her shoulders, glancing away and watching the raven-haired young man with the corner of one eye. "I know you're worried about losing the bet and everything, but I suppose if you're going to be a cowardly idiot about it..."

"I'm not going to back down from anything!" Ranma snapped, moving closer to the girl. He grinned darkly. "Believe me, I'm going to take you out for the best night of your life. I'm going to have you begging me to take you out on more dates when I'm through with you."

"It'll be hard to do that if you drop out of the academy," Miz pointed out casually from where she strode in front of the pair.

"The lovely Officer Mishtal is right, Ranma," Fatora noted with an evil grin. Indecision flashed briefly on his face before he nodded to himself.

"Fine! I'll stay here at least until I win that bet!" Ranma proclaimed, crossing his arms with finality. He grinned at the brunette. "Not that it'll take me that long, of course. The first night I have time free is going to be the night you lose!"

"You're on, then," Fatora agreed. She stopped, causing her two companions to halt as well. She smiled clasping her hands behind her back. "Well, I should get going then. I'm sure I'll see you around, detective."

"Hey, how am I gonna tell you when I have time free?" Ranma demanded as Fatora tried to turn away.

"That shouldn't be a problem. I'm a student here at the academy. We'll be seeing each other around," the princess noted with a grin, departing with a casual wave. She had a few hours before she had to report in. It was time to track down Alielle... No doubt the poor girl had missed Fatora greatly.

oOo

Shayla-Shayla scowled to herself as she worked the immigration desk. She leaned back as she worked on the application, having sent the applicant on already. With a growl she shoved her long, spiky red hair back, frustrated with the repetition of paperwork. Noting the relative lightness of her hands compared to her usual, darker tan, she suddenly felt homesick for the deserts of Muldoon.

For the last four months she'd directed the traffic of monster after alien after cute guy after blue woman, with a variety of other types of people in between. Yet despite the large variety of beings she helped direct, the work was depressingly similar. She hadn't seen an actual sun as anything but a distant star for months.

Despite the size of the Galaxy Police headquarters, only a very small amount of that traffic was directly related to the operations. Most of it involved winnowing out the recruits with a chance of enduring the rigors of training from the horde of people who had no business signing up in the first place. It was not the prestigious assignment she'd been hoping for upon graduation.

"Next!" Shayla called, glancing up. She was surprised to see Miz Mishtal grinning lightly at her, a handsome young man holding his application standing slightly behind. "Miz, it's good to see you! How was your patrol?"

"Eventful," Miz sighed heavily, raising one hand gently to push the raven-haired pigtailed youth. He shot a look over his shoulder at the gesture as Miz continued, "While bringing this one back here, we ran into a group of slavers. Thanks to this young man we managed to escape, while rescuing Princess Fatora as well."

"So that's why the princess was gone! The official word was that she'd been called back home to deal with a diplomatic issue," The redhead commented, scratching her chin. "It makes a lot more sense, now. So she's alright?"

"Technically. She's really annoying," the youth finally said blandly.

"Oh, that's right," Miz added, chuckling. "Ranma here managed to enrage our lovely princess enough to cause a small bet. If she doesn't enjoy her date with him, he gets to be her servant."

"You poor bastard," the fire-user commented with a chuckle. She reached out and tapped a button on her console, to which Miz responded by filing the boy's application. She met the boy's blue eyes and grinned. "You do know that our princess doesn't like boys, right?"

"Feh, I'm not a boy. I'm a man among men!" He commented proudly, crossing his arms with a broad grin.

"He's not the brightest star in the galaxy, is he?" Shayla asked Miz, causing the woman to glance at the cieling with a look of much suffering.

"He's a black hole," Miz said regretfully.

"Well, I'm sure you can take him to medical. I've got more work here than I can handle, and I wouldn't want the poor guy to get lost," Shayla said, finishing the application. Miz nodded, grabbing the arrogant young man by the elbow and dragging him off.

"Next!"

oOo

Ranma warily entered his assigned room, nervous at the absence of Miz. Like it or not he was truly on his own now, with nobody to guide him. The thought made him self-conscious as he stepped through the door.

Both his roommates defied his expectations. In fact, they weren't so removed from Hiroshi or Daisuke.

"Hello!" One of the two young men called from the entertainment area of the shared room, grinning broadly. His slicked his short brown hair back, standing to offer Ranma his other hand. "My name's Asuma Morobishi! Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Ranma Saotome," the pigtailed boy offered, grinning at the forward young man. He turned to the other young man in the room. "And you?"

"I'm Yuji Godai," the striking young man offered with a reluctant smile.

"So what's your story?" Asuma prodded with a grin, sitting back on one of the cushions around the table. Ranma joined the duo, offering a smile of his own.

"I'm just some poor sucker who didn't know what he was getting into," the pigtailed boy admitted with a shrug, chuckling at the look on Asuma's face.

"I know exactly how you feel," Asuma offered with a consoling slap on the back. He hugged Ranma companionably, throwing one arm out to gesture against the wall. "One minute you're ready to quit this whole academy deal, the next you're enraptured by some sort of hot chich! It's a tragic fate we're ensnared within, my friend!"

"It's not quite like that," Ranma muttered, shrugging off the overly-friendly roommate. "I'm only sticking around because of Fatora. I'm gonna prove her wrong about men if it's the last thing I do!"

"You're dating Princess Fatora?" Asuma guffawed, nearly collapsing from where he leaned against the pigtailed boy. When his finger was rudely shoved in Ranma's face, the martial artist decided he was getting close to an uncrossable line. "Man, are you stupid? I'm not picky or anything, but I at least like a chance at something, y'know?"

So the sandy-haired youth had actually crossed the line. Ranma planted a foot in the pervert's face, lightly flexing his thighs to launch the idiot across the room.

"So are you like this idiot?" Ranma queried, looking to the dark-haired man who remained at the table. Yuji shrugged, sipping his tea.

"Not really," Yuji admitted, carefully setting his cup back on the coaster. "I'll admit I'm not here just for the education... I won a race on my home planet in the course of defending it from invasion. As a consequence I've accidentally become engaged to the princess of the invading people."

"So you came to this place to buy yourself some time?" Ranma noted with a chuckle. The dark-haired youth nodded reluctantly. "Don't worry, man... I know all about accidental engagements. That still doesn't explain the moron in the linen closet."

"Asuma is... unique," Yuji admitted with a light chuckle.

"I heard that!" Asuma protested, clawing his way out from the extra bedding. He tossed aside the sheet-cum-toga he wore as he reclaimed his seat at the low table in front of the television. "I'm here for Shayla-Shayka-chan! I was all set to get back home to Shinoko until I saw her... And then I realised the truth! With that boring desk job, that fiery girl is just begging for the sort of release Asuma Morobishi can provide!"

"Right," Ranma muttered with a roll of his eyes, thinking back to the woman he'd met briefly before signing in to his room. She didn't seem like the sort of woman who had trouble finding fun, let alone the sort who 'needed' Asuma's help finding someone to socialize with.

"So what's the deal with that chick who brought you here?" Asuma butted in, grinning broadly. When Ranma didn't answer immediately, he slid beside the pigtailed man and jabbed him in the side with his elbow. "She was a lot more interested than the usual recruiter. So what did you do?"

"Nothing much. I just helped her escape some idiot slaver. Galus or something," Ranma told the two. He didn't note the way their faces paled at the name.

"G-G-Galus!?" Morobishi demanded, shrinking away. As if the idea of messing with the martial artist were suddenly a lot less appealing than it had been moments ago. "As in Galus of the Thousand Strikes?"

"I dunno!" Ranma snapped, shrugging. "The idiot was too afraid to come down to the hanger where Miz had her ship!"

"You don't even know who he is, do you?" Yuji asked with a chuckle, noting the blank look Ranma gave him in turn. The pigtailed boy ignored the way Asuma's jaw had dropped. "Galus is one of the most notorious slavers of the modern age. You're saying that you and just one detective were able to fight your way out of his ship?"

"We didn't get out of his ship," Ranma mentioned lightly, laughing. He clapped his hands together, then drew them apart. "Galus said something about how we couldn't escape, so Miz blew his ship in half from inside. I guess if he was okay after that, technically it was him who escaped from us."

"Galus escaped from _you_?" Asuma spat with a laugh, clutching his sides. "Do you really believe that? Don't you know just how damn lucky you are? He's killed dozens of officers in the last month or two! And your escort didn't recognize him!? You're the luckiest guy in the world!"

"Hey, next time I'm gonna kick the crap out of him!" Ranma protested, drawing a sigh from Yuji and another laugh from Asuma.

"Sure," Asuma brayed, doubling over. "Next you'll tell us you've accidentally stumbled across Saffron, come back from history to terrorize the universe once more... and to top it all off, you've already beaten him too!"

"Hey, I beat Saffron before I got involved with this whole Galaxy Police thing!" Ranma yelled, giving Asuma a hard shove. The sandy-haired bastard was getting annoying.

Needless to say, neither boy believed a thing Ranma had to say for the rest of the night. They wouldn't learn that Ranma was actually telling the truth until the next day, when Miz hit them with a bigger shock than the coldest wave she could have produced.

Also needless to say, their respect for the boy rose sharply when his wild stories were bluntly confirmed to them.

oOo

Appendix:

**Muldoon Ecology:** The country of Muldoon is largely divided into three distinct ecosystems: A forested area and a plains area to the north, with the bottom half of the country largely being a desert split by two mountain ranges. The forest is dominated by water users, the plains likewise produce wind-users, and the desert tends to be populated by fire-users. Whether the concentration of these talents in each area is the cause of specific powers manifesting is debateable, as those with each talent tend to make their way to these areas even if born elsewhere.

Author's Notes:

If you've not listened to any of katethegreat19's work on youtube, you've missing out on some of the best singing you'll ever hear. Give her version of You're Not Alone a listen.

Yuji Godai and Asuma Morobishi are very thinly vieled versions of the leads from Maison Ikkoku and Urusei Yatsura, respectively. However, I decided to switch a couple of their defining items around, just to keep things interesting. In this case, Asuma is chasing the resident manager (Shayla) and Yuji has the alien fiancee.

They won't be major characters, just background filler like Seina's two roommates were. Interesting fluff and no more.

-Gaming Ikari


	6. Chapter 6

Galaxy Police Cadet Scramble

oOo

Chapter 6

oOo

"Saffron," Asuma muttered, staring at his roommate. The pigtailed boy shrugged.

Asuma and his roommate Yuji, at their outset, entertained the idea of calling the pigtailed bastard on his lies. Defeating Saffron and Galus on his way to the school? It was madness. It had to be the most audacious lie told in the academy's history.

At seeing the blue-eyed boy on-screen, shakily, during a new video on how to redirect overwhelming strikes, Ranma had simply shrugged in response at the sight of him fighting Saffron, as if the feat were nothing special: The bastard didn't know just how kami-be-damned lucky he was.

Saffron was the sort of deadly fable his parents had used to scare the young lecher in line. He'd had nightmares about a winged immortal coming for him when he was small, thanks to the stories he'd been told. Saffron was the sort of being who flash-evaporated the seas of a planet for fun. He rendered planets inhospitable by a whim. And this punk from a protected planet had somehow beaten the deadliest space pirate in history.

It made Asuma's head spin. He turned his gaze on Yuji, looking for support.

"Saffron. THE Saffron. I don't care what Ibuki-sensei says, no matter how hot she looks in that ninja outfit of hers: No matter who said it, there's no way the guy we've heard about all our lives got beaten by this backwoods-planet hick!" Asuma seethed. Normally he was not one for confrontation. Then again...

Normally, his childhood fears weren't dashed by a roommate a year younger than him. Today was not, strictly speaking, a normal day. Thus, normal expectations didn't really come into play. Normally someone who'd fought Galus, let alone Saffron, would be a gibbering heap on the ground, salvageble only by the best in the field of psychiatry. Normally said person's recovery would take weeks of effort.

His roommate, putting on an act of supreme boredom, was most certainly not normal. The pigtailed bastard was a freakish abomination. The blue-eyed boy grinned at the look the pervert was shooting him.

"I know it's hard to accept, Asuma... But there are people in this universe who are that awesome. People who, y'know, aren't frightened by some wuss who can spit fire out of his ass." The pigtailed abomination reached out to grasp the young man's shoulders, squeezing gently. "It's not that you suck, man. it's just that I'm that good. It ain't your fault."

Asuma would have been a lot more disgruntled about the turn of events, were it not for one small factor: Afura Mann, a fellow cadet, was scheduled as the next to spar with his team. She was reputedly one of the strongest wind-channelers in history. Normally, he or Yuji would have been scheduled to be the punching bag of the powerful damsel.

Normally.

They could recommend their junior for special training, if they thought him impressive enough.

Asuma had determined, early enough, that the youngest member of their trio was either insane or frighteningly competent when it came to combat. Special training would certainly prove whether or not the youth was full of shallow boasts or deep strategy.

Asuma rubbed his hands eagerly as he slipped into bed, wondering just how badly his poor roommate would be thrashed the next day. After all, how could he hope to contend with something as intangible as the wind!? No mere mortal without Muldoon's blessing could possibly hope to control the wind! It was impossible! He'd be torn to shreds before he even comprehended his danger!

The lecher couldn't help but cackle maniacally.

"Asuma, shut up or I'll shut you up," Ranma groaned from where he lay on his bed, tossing a spare pillow to strike the pervert with a dull thud. The brown-haired youth could endure. Tomorrow, the pigtailed bastard would come face to face with just the sort of opponent he deserved

Asuma chuckled quietly to himself.

"Seriously, Asuma. More noise, and my fists are gonna sing you a lullaby."

oOo

Afura gently raised one eyebrow at the young man arranged across from her, her gaze slowly moving to the two young men she was supposed to be training. He moved far too casually for a new recruit: He was far to comfortable in his own skin, as if he hadn't undergone the mandatory body enhancement.

Yet her two students were presenting him as their superior. Her eyes found her students' eyes, and they smiled sheepishly. Despite the awkward looks on their faces, she didn't catch any hint of a joke: They expected her to fight him.

"Would you care to explain, or am I supposed to just lash out at some novice you've found to take your beatings in your place?" Afura asked casually, noting the offended look the pigtailed boy offered. Either he was offended that he was about to be beaten, or he was offended by the thought she could offer him one: Her money was on the former.

"Like some weak chick like you could take me on," the brash youth commented, derisively flipping his pigtail over his shoulder. Or perhaps he hadn't been offended by the first suggestion. He didn't notice the tightening of her fists, the subtle wind which swept the ground between them. "I'm sure you're impressive to the dorks here, but in real combat... No way, no how you could stand a chance."

"Really?" Afura demanded, forcefully taking a step towards the new recruit. Unenhanced or not, he was begging for the sort of thrashing she was in the mood to deliver... Her own instructors being in the sort of instructive mindset her quarry was pushing her towards. "You really think an unaugmented kid like you has a chance against me?"

"You wouldn't last twenty minutes against me," the youth bluntly informed her as he thumbed his nose with a grin, meeting Afura's determined gaze.

"We'll see," the brunette replied, feeling the winds rippled around her.

oOo

Twenty minutes into the fight, Ranma Saotome was having doubts about his ability to beat the girl fighting him. In fact, had not he been in space for just two or three days, he would have assumed she'd been especially selected to hammer at his weaknesses. As it was, he had to assume it was just his plain old bad luck at play.

Regardless, the facts were quite dour for the pigtailed pugilist. The young woman was currently flying out of reach and was horribly fast. And while she was doing so, she struck solidy from a range he couldn't hope to match. The annoyed youth couldn't decide what was worse: The fact she seemed to be the first to possess better control over wind than he did while using a Hiryu Shoten Ha, or the fact her battle aura was nearly as cold as his, rendering the technique useless.

It wasn't fair! His foes ALWAYS had a weakness he could exploit! Some flaw in their technique which he could weasel his way into and blow wide open, proving once more that the Saotome-style of Anything Goes was the strongest! Sometimes he'd faced opponents who'd overwhelmed him with superior speed, strength, or simple power... but never with the strength of their martial philosophy.

Always before, he'd noted the weaknesses in the way his foe fought in comparison to the way he fought, even if his physical abilities were lacking. Always before, he'd exploited some innate superiority in the benefits of his school against the style against which he fought. Something told him that this time, it wouldn't work.

Somewhere between the second or third icy blast of wind, early on in the fight, he'd realized just how effective his opponent's strikes were. Each was the fist of an angry god, pounding the floor from far enough away and with enough speed that Ranma's only option was to dodge frantically.

"Damn it!" Ranma swore, rolling to the side as a sudden gust of wind flattened the ground on which he'd stood. The concrete cracked under the pressure, the visible ball of wind fading as it rolled past where he'd stood.

His eyes bulged as he searched for his foe, finding the young woman floating in midair a few meters above. The vampiricly pale brunette wore a victorious smirk, briefly brushing her bangs from where they hung over one eye. Ranma met that gaze with a grin.

This was not gonna be fun.

Wind lashed him from the side, blasting him across the ground. He groaned as he rolled with the zephyrous hammer, smiling for once in the fight as he caught sight of his opponent's shocked face. Clearly she hadn't accounted for his durability. Not that he could do much to about it at the moment... It was just nice to know that he'd surprised her with at least one aspect of his fighting style.

"Heh, did you really think a blow like that was enough to take me down?" Ranma snorted, crossing his arms. Inwardly he grimaced at the sharp pain in his side. For all the pretense, that blow had felt like one of Ryouga's stronger hits. Not enough to put him out of the fight, but strong enough to make the thought of further hits unpalatable.

"I'm impressed, I'll admit," the woman offered with a smile, floating slowly to the ground. Ranma crouched low, only to pause as she raised one hand. "That's enough for today, Saotome. I wanted to get a baseline for your abilities, not beat you to death. Frankly, you're a lot better than Morobishi and Godai here. I imagine you're going to be quite frightening to deal with once you've undergone your body enhancement."

"My what?" Ranma queried, standing up straight. He closed the distance between the two, being joined by his roommates.

"Your body enhancement," Afura repeated, crossing her arms. One eye narrowed. "It's required for all Galaxy Police cadets. It's a series of gene therapy and nanite injections which greatly enhance your strength, speed, durability, and reaction times. Normally it raises those attributes to a level roughly two-thirds as good as I'd estimate yours are."

"This won't weaken me, will it?" Ranma demanded suspiciously, frowning.

"Not at all," his instructor assured him, smiling. "Like I said, you're going to be something quite difficult to deal with once you undergo the work on your body. Normally the increase in your abilities is at least a factor of ten, but I imagine your enhanced performance will limit the increase to half of that."

"I'll be five times as strong?" Ranma choked, trying to imagine it. The thought was overwhelming.

"In fact, you're scheduled to undergo your enhancement in twenty minutes," Afura continued, gesturing for him to follow as she started to walk off. After a moment's pause, Ranma followed.

oOo

The tech working in the enhancement center finished with the last of the preparations, then flipped the switch. To the left, Miz Mishtal watched carefully as the unconscious Ranma started to undergo the process.

"So, do you believe me now?" Miz asked her fellow Muldoneese elementalist, to which Afura responded with a slow nod. The water-user chuckled a bit. "I did warn you about him. So how did your match with him go?"

The wind shaper paused, idly tapping her jaw with one finger, as if carefully ordering her words.

"He's quite good," she finally admitted, crossing her arms. "We fought for quite a while at a total stalemate. I was airborne and too fast for him to make any sort of successful attack, though he tried an energy blast of some sort a few times. On the other hand, I only managed to clip him once or twice during the entire fight, since he was nearly as fast as me."

"He's quite the fighter. When we were escaping Galus' ship, he was the one who wound up with most of the fighting," Miz admitted with a small giggle. She shrugged at the raised eyebrow the woman offered. "I wasn't exactly in top form. They gave me a shot which suppressed my own body enhancement, leaving me with just my water powers. Without those I would have been an easy target for even the most pathetic pirate."

"Not falling into your old damsel-in-distress habits?" Afura pondered with a dry chuckle.

"That only happened once!" The older detective snapped with a blush, though the younger detective didn't stop chuckling. The purple-haired woman just sighed. "Besides, he's a little young for me, Afura. He hasn't even seen the end of two decades."

"True, but his battle experience-" Afura began with a bit of awe.

"-has not in any way, shape, or form managed to carry over into his maturity," Miz finished firmly. She clucked her tongue, staring at the unconscious boy. "He acts like a kid. He _is_ a child in a lot of ways. He somehow manages to be cynical and naive at the same time. It's not very endearing."

"I heard that he's managed to draw the ire of our princess," the wind-user admitted with another chuckle.

"I don't believe this!" One of the techs declared from his console. Miz and Afura both rushed to look at the readouts, blinking at what they saw. The results weren't normal at all. In fact, they were downright shocking.

"Is this accurate?" Miz wondered, going over the estimated changes in strength, speed, endurance, and reaction time. She tapped a few of the figures. "For the work you've put into him, we could have hardly expected results like these."

"I agree. When I was telling him about the body enhancement, I predicted it would be different for him. I didn't expect-" Afura was cut off by a loud groan from Ranma, who slowly got to his feet.

His eyes snapped open and he blinked.

"Well," he said, twisting and turning. "I don't really feel different at all!"

oOo

Appendix:

**Body Enhancement: **A Galaxy Police practice which combines a nanomachines and gene therapy to increase the natural strength, speed, and agility of the candidate. A mandatory policy which grants the officers the edge they need to handle the worst criminals the galaxy has to offer. Black market treatments offering similar benefits exist, but are horribly expensive and only about half as beneficial.

Author's Notes:

Though I'm nabbing characters from El Hazard, I decided early on that I would be filling Ranma's oncoming harem with different characters than the ones Makoto managed to snag. As for the who, well... You'll just have to wait and see. I ain't telling.

Though I will say Afura's predictions for the increase in Ranma's abilities are not correct, as was hinted at the end of the chapter.

-Gaming Ikari

P.S. I've weathered enough comments about my chapter length. There's an essay about it on my profile page. _Read it first _and then PM me if you feel like discussing the topic.


	7. Chapter 7

Galaxy Police Cadet Scramble

oOo

Chapter 7

oOo

Ranma sat across from Miz and Afura, scowling and crossing his arms. Both women looked the slightest bit taken aback by the young man's fierce look. With good reason, the pigtailed boy thought sourly. This was not anything good.

"So let me get this straight," Ranma muttered, placing his hands on the table and trying to keep his voice calm. "I went through with this body enhancement thing, right? However instead of boosting my strength and all that crap, the only noticeable thing it did was make me a little tougher."

"I wouldn't necessarily call a thirty percent increase in your overall durability 'a little tougher'," Afura offered a little nervously, though she leaned back a bit when Ranma turned his gaze on her.

"So on top of feeling a little tougher, you say I heal a tough faster, and I move a bit quicker," Ranma continued.

"A ten percent increase in your body's ability to recover from wounds, and maybe a three or four percent increase in your speed," Miz confirmed weakly. She didn't bother to mask her flinch when Ranma's eyes turned on her.

"And the result of all of this is that my body is now forever messed up so any doctor on Earth will think I'm an alien," Ranma muttered, to which both women nodded. He sighed. "Damn it."

He sat in silence, staring up at the ceiling. The two women from Muldoon exchanged a long look before Miz stood, gentle placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you all right?" Miz wondered, squeezing lightly. His eyes turned up to hers and he smirked.

"Yeah. Just another day in the life of Ranma Saotome," the boy muttered with a dark chuckle. He sighed. "I used to be fully male a couple years ago and now I'm not even fully human anymore. Ah well."

"Wait, what did you say?" Afura demanded.

"Uh, Just another day in the life of Ranma Saotome?" Ranma asked, confused. Afura waved one hand for him to continue. He thought back for a minute. "I used to be fully male a couple years ago?" Afura paused and stared at this, before waving her hand for him to continue once more. "Um, I can't believe I'm not fully human now?"

"You're human?" Miz asked sharply, and Ranma noticed that her hand had gone very still. In fact, it felt like it was trembling a bit. The boy nodded mutely. "As in, you are fully human? Your father is fully human, your mother is fully human, and your grandparents?"

"Yeah," the pigtailed boy confirmed.

"B-but, what about your strength? That shape-changing ability? You said that you got both from your father!" Miz said shakily. Her pale face had gone even more white, as had Afura's.

"My old man's martial arts style, and he dragged us to some cursed springs... So the strength is training, the shape-changing thing is some weird magic." Ranma informed her. He shrugged lightly, and Miz's limp hand fell from his shoulder. "Why?"

"We have a very serious problem," Afura informed him, her eyes meeting Miz's.

"Let's go see Airi," Miz told her fellow officer.

Confused, Ranma followed the duo.

oOo

Until ten minutes ago, Airi had been having a wonderful day. Ten minutes ago she'd been reading a report about how one of the newest recruits, Ranma Saotome, had fought a fully enhanced Muldoonese wind user to a standstill for twenty minutes... Without being enhanced himself. Ten minutes ago, she'd known that the cadet was undergoing his own body enhancement and the Galaxy Police would be blessed with a cadet possessing potential not seen in years.

Ten minutes ago, Detective First Class Miz Mishtal and Detective Second Class Afura Mann had arrived in her office with Cadet Ranma Saotome in tow. Then Miz had spoken the eleven words words which promised to ruin her day.

"Lady Airi, there's a problem: Cadet Saotome is a full human," the Muldoonese water-user sounded miserable, and Airi felt her mood drop a bit. It was a shame that they'd be losing him, but...

Oh dear. He'd undergone the body enhancement. Miz continued to speak, without waiting for Airi's prompting.

"It's worse than you think. He's already undergone the body enhancement surgery. While it has irreversibly changed his body, the effects on his performance are negligible."

Airi frowned. And she'd been having such a good day. She thumbed the communications button on her desk. She wasn't about to be selfish. She'd happily share this bad day with a certain headmistress.

"Mikami, would you please come to my office as soon as possible? There's a problem."

"I've just learned something disturbing as well, Airi. I was just about to come see you anyway," Mikami's grim voice admitted.

Airi fought the urge to rest her head on the desk and cry. Her eyes glanced on a digital clock as the minute advanced. It had been such a good day until eleven minutes ago.

oOo

"Well, this does present a problem... However, it's also a potential solution to the very problem I've received word of," Mikami admitted, turning her gaze on Ranma. The boy flinched back from her gaze, despite the small smile she now wore. "It's unfortunate what happened, cadet Saotome... but at this point, it might be viewed as a bit of providence. I'm sure you remember Saffron?"

"Yeah?" The boy asked, sitting up straighter. "I heard he was some kind of well pirate, but he ain't so tough."

"I'm glad you think so," Mikami said with a bright smile. "You see, four Galaxy Police detectives were sent to capture him shortly after you left Earth. He destroyed their ships and escaped. We might need your help to capture him again."

"Me?" Ranma sputtered, flinching back. "I'm only a cadet here, right? There's gotta be dozens of people better suited to fighting him!"

"We sent four. Only one of them lived to report in," Mikami informed him grimly. She let her smile fade. "Certainly we have detectives who are technically stronger than you. However, one of our Muldoonese detectives tried to deflect Saffron's flames with her wind attack, as you did and was incinerated. We don't understand why it didn't work."

"My cousin Imfala?" Afura asked quietly, looking away, pained, at Mikami's confirming nod.

"It's not just a wind attack," Ranma said quietly, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully. At the interested looks three of the women were giving him, he slowly continued. "It's more than wind. It's a very advanced martial arts technique that turns an opponent's strength back against them."

"How advanced is this technique? Do you think you could teach it to anyone here at the academy?" Airi asked sharply. The boy considered it for a moment before shaking his head.

"No, I don't think so," Ranma finally said slowly. "There are only a handful of people on Earth who are good enough to use the technique, and they're all like me... People who've been training in martial arts all their lives. Everybody I've seen so far is pretty strong and fast, but they don't have the chi manipulation to make it work."

"Chi manipulation?" Mikami prompted, to which Ranma sighed.

"I'm guessing that's the reason your body upgrade thing didn't work too well on me," Ranma told the woman with a shrug. "I'm already naturally boosting my strength, speed, and toughness with chi. There wasn't anything your little machines could do that I'm not doing just as good, if not better, already. However I'm doing it subconsciously by manipulating the natural energy all around me."

"This energy is what you use to fuel your wind attack?" Airi asked, causing the pigtailed cadet to nod in reply.

"Even making yourself stronger and faster is beyond the average martial artist... and most don't have the potential to even manifest their battle aura, let alone employ techniques which project their chi as an attack," Ranma told the women with a helpless look. "It takes years and years of intense martial arts discipline to come close to using my techniques. It's not just a matter of being strong or fast or having gobs of power to throw around. It takes mental discipline and concentration on the most fundamental level."

"So you're our only hope, then," Mikami sighed. This wasn't good. The older Kuramitsu slowly turned to Airi. "Airi, how is Yosho doing these days?"

"My husband?" Airi asked with a blink. She smiled fondly. "He's doing fine."

"Would he have any problems training cadet Saotome? Washu would also be useful in seeing if there's any way to make the body enhancement work a little better," Mikami proposed, and Airi nodded slowly at the idea.

"I'm sure he'd be happy to help," Airi said finally.

"Wait, if this guy can teach me how to fight better, why not send him?" Ranma asked with a scowl. He shifted uncomfortably at the look all four women shot him. "Look, last time I fought Saffron, it was... different. I'm not exactly eager to do it again."

"My husband is quite skilled in battle. He can teach you quite a few things about having to fight Saffron," Airi informed him with a wistful smile. "However, he's not strong enough to fight Saffron directly. I'm afraid you're the best candidate we have, Ranma."

"Damn," Ranma groaned, heels of his palms smacking into his forehead. He raised his eyes to meet Airi's. "I suppose if I don't stop him, he's going to go on killing people or something too, huh..."

"I'm afraid so," Mikami told him with a small smile. The boy just groaned.

"Some days I swear the kami are against me," Ranma muttered, head returning to palms.

oOo

Once the younger trio left her office, Airi smiled to herself. She noted the look her friend was giving her.

"So are we really going to pin all our hopes on that young man?" Mikami asked lightly. Airi smiled.

"In a worst case scenario, I'm sure we could ask Tenchi's help," Airi commented with a shrug. She tapped a key on her desk, and a report flashed on the screen. "However, Tenchi aside, he probably is our best hope. In all of his previous fights, Saffron has displayed the agility to dodge any Light Hawk Wings deployed by ship-sized craft. We can't be sure that Seina in Zinv would do any better."

"So in all of the Galaxy Police, a recruit we've trained for all of twenty minutes is our best hope," Mikami chuckled, ignoring the report in favour of meeting Airi's grin with one of her own. "We should really reconsider the ban on admitting Earthlings into the Galaxy Police. This is the third boy from that rock who's making a mockery of all of our 'superior' entrants."

"Well, to be fair, Tenchi is partially Juraian... and blessed by Tsunami herself," Airi retorted.

"And Seina is the opposite end of the spectrum," Mikami told her with a chuckle. "Until Amane recruited him into our ranks, he was just some poor boy with extraordinarily bad luck."

"The question is, where does Ranma fit into all of that?" Airi asked.

Both women pondered the question in silence.

"How would you like to bet Ranma becomes the fourth heir to the Juraian throne?" Airi finally asked with a wry grin.

Mikami snorted. "No. I'm smart enough to recognize patterns, Airi."

oOo

"They sending you running already, Saotome?" Asuma's voice chortled, and Ranma looked up with a scowl. Yuji stood beside the lecher, nervously smiling. "What gives, man?"

"Special training," Ranma replied tersely, shoving his spare uniforms into a duffel bag. He glanced at the two. "So, what's the deal with this Yosho guy, anyway. Is he any good in a fight?"

"Lord Yosho?" Yuji asked lightly. The older boy smiled at the way Asuma's jaw dropped before turning his attention to Ranma's question. "I guess you could say that. He's the crown prince of Jurai, and also a warrior without peer. He tracked down the notorious space pirate Ryouko and singlehandedly captured her."

"That's impressive?" Ranma wondered.

"Very," Yuji informed him. Asuma was now muttering incoherently. "So why are you getting special training from Lord Yosho? I'd heard he was living the quiet life on some backwoods planet somewhere."

"Oh, Saffron apparently escaped from the guys sent to capture him," Ranma muttered, zipping up the bag and shouldering it. "Now I get to fight him again. Damn it, the first time was bad enough."

"Take care then, Saotome," Yuji offered as the young martial artist strode by.

"You too, Godai," Ranma replied.

As the door slid shut, he heard Morobishi yell, "He did it again!" The pigtailed boy grinned, whistling a jaunty tune as he walked to the shuttle which would take him to the spaceport.

oOo

"I'm just doing this to get the damned thing over with," Fatora growled to herself, walking through the dormitory halls of the academy. She paused before the pigtailed bastard's room, wondering how she would phrase her offer. She just wanted to get the date over with.

The sooner she got hold of the cute redhead, the better, she reasoned with a grin.

She firmly knocked on the door. After a moment, it slid open to reveal a rather plain young man. He brazenly swept his eyes up her body before grinning at her.

"Hello, beautiful!" He said loudly, offering his hand. "My name's Asuma Morobishi. How can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Ranma Saotome," Fatora told him frostily. The boy hardly seemed daunted.

"Aw, who cares about him. Why don't you and I go somewhere quiet so we can get to know one another better?" Moroboshi offered, still holding out his hand. So he didn't learn. Well, if he was going to offer...

"Graaah!" Both hands latched onto the brunette boy's wrists, and the princess spun in a quarter circle and torqued her body, executing a text-book throw which pitched the bastard across the hallway. He clipped the edge of the railing before tumbling across the ground beyond. Fatora dusted her hands and walked into the room. "Ranma Saotome, where the hell are you?"

The only one inside was a somewhat bishounen-looking boy, reading quietly at the low table to her left. She ignored the boy in favor of walklng to the bathroom and yanking the door open.

"I'm sorry miss, but Saotome left about ten minutes ago," the boy offered politely.

"Left?" Fatora demanded. The boy winced at the look on her face.

"Yeah. Special training with Lord Yosho. Who knows when he'll be back... I'm sorry to tell you this, miss," the cadet apologized. He stood. "I'm Yuji Godai. If you'd like, I think I know where he's going to be leaving from. Would you like me to take you there?"

"Yes!" Fatora snapped. Yuji nodded, and both of them left the room. Asuma clutched the railing weakly, watching the two go by.

"Why does that bastard Saotome have all the luck?" He moaned. Fatora ignored him, following the polite young man to her quarry.

Ranma Saotome would rue the day he tried to run out on Fatora Roshtaria!

oOo

Appendix:

**G.P. Entry Protocol:** Normally a human being from Earth is not allowed to become a Galaxy Police officer. Seina Yamada was the first exception to this rule, based solely on his incredibly bad luck which was capable of attracting hundreds of pirates.

**Saffron/Treeship Encounters: **There were a number of times that Saffron was confronted by the royal tree, Tsunami, and other treeships capable of generating Light Hawk Wings. Although Saffron was heavily wounded due to Jurai's ultimate power during his first encounter, he subsequently learned that he simply needed to dodge the attacks and flee while blasting the ships with his flame. Thanks to his speed and diminutive size, ships capable of proving a threat to him were easily avoided.

Author's Notes:

Originally I wasn't going to have Ranma undergo the body enhancement at all, but then I realized it would be a quick and easy method of pinning the boy to the Galaxy Police. It's made quite clear in the GXP anime that the change is rather permanent.


End file.
